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Chandra Crawford switches up Olympic training

Chandra Crawford crosses the finish line at the end of her qualifying run at the Canadian Olympic Trials for cross-country skiing at the Canmore Nordic Centre earlier this month. (Russ Ullyot/QMI Agency)

CALGARY - With a year to go before the Sochi Olympics, Chandra Crawford decided she needed a change.

In the midst of a frustrating season on the world cup season, the 2006 Olympic Nordic skiing gold medalist left the national team and returned to her home in Canmore in an effort to put herself in a position — both mentally and physically — where she could return to her best in time for the 2014 Games in Sochi.

Now, a refreshed and re-energized Crawford is preparing for one last kick at the Olympic can with a renewed sense of perspective about her sport.

“It was really a key part of my preparation for Sochi,” Crawford said of her break from the national team. “When I was younger, I would see the older athletes retire from the sport and my thought at the time was ‘Why would you ever do that? This is the best life in the world’. “